Ah, the Bala Cranberry Festival. It feels like this is now an annual last trip to the cottage to enjoy fall fun, in typically horrid weather!

After a super rainy morning, we were so lucky that the temperature was mild and the rain held off all of Saturday. We had a great walk around town, enjoying the farm animals, candied cranberries (the best thing on the planet by the way) and even a little time sitting in a fire truck.

B has been such a trooper the past few weekends as we have hit up fairs and festivals, it sure has made night times easier when that little man has a full day of fun and fresh air.

I posted the other week that for B’s second birthday he received a bunk bed. The first night I was so impressed by him going down without issue and sleeping until 6:00am, to see the full post, click here.

Let’s fast forward about two weeks, I am officially over it. The 6:00am wake up calls have turned into 1:00am (sometimes) and 5:00-6:00am (daily), not to mention the night-time routine has been stretching out longer and longer. Overall he’s doing well, but I feel like he wakes himself up from the excitement of knowing he can get out of bed at any moment. Every day I feel like we are getting better, but I have yet to have an uninterrupted night of sleep since the transition, and this mom needs her beauty sleep!

So here are my tips, from a momma who is new at this and is just trying to make this work!

Get on the same page with your partner. D and I made a game plan about what to do when we have our middle of the night visitor. We don’t let him get into bed. One of us takes him right back to bed and tucks him in. Even if it takes both of us multiple tries. #unitedwestand

The middle of the night is not for cuddles. When I put him down, I sit with him until he is asleep then sneak out of his room. Is this the right way to go, maybe not, but it seems to be working and it gets him down for good and without tears. When he wakes up early though, it is straight to bed and no sitting with hims until he falls back to sleep. We want him to learn to stay in bed and waking up won’t get him cuddle time.

Emphasize that he/she is a big boy/girl now. As we make the transition I keep reminding him that big boys sleep in beds and cribs are for babies. I want him to feel like sleeping (and staying) in his bed is exciting and something that makes him more grown up. It has been working so far as a negotiating tool when he is being fussy about getting into bed.

DON’T GIVE UP. It took D and I 45 minutes to get B down the other night, when he woke up at 4:30am. It required BOTH of us getting up and putting him back in his room and it involved a lot of screaming and crying, but guess what, it worked. He finally stayed in bed and we all slept blissfully until 8:30am that morning. STAY STRONG PEOPLE!

This is what I have been trying. I am tired, but I feel like each night is getting better and better.

For thanksgiving I decided to get creative and try out a new recipe and according to my taste buds I thought it was a success. I followed a recipe from Delicious Everyday, with a few minor tweaks/cheats, to see the original recipe, click here.

Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan, add onion salt and pepper, sautéed 10-15 minutes or until golden brown, on medium-low heat. Place in a bowl to cool. Add second Tbsp of olive oil, add spinach, sautéed until wilted, 2-3 minutes on medium-low, move to bowl to cool. Add final Tbsp of olive oil to pan, place mushrooms stem down, cook for 5 minutes on medium to medium high. Flip and cook for a further 5 minutes. Remove and place on paper towel on a plate to cool (will release water as it cools). Pop all three dishes in the fridge to fully cool.

**I sautéed my veggies in the late morning and left in the fridge. Then assembled about 45 minutes out from dinner time – it seemed to work well and saved time if you are having company!**

Pre-heat oven to 390F.

Place parchment paper on a baking sheet. Gently lay first sheet of puff pastry on the paper. Place half of the onions on the pastry (leave about a two inch edge, so you can close it once filled). Place half of the spinach on top of the onions and sprinkle 1 tsp of thyme. Place the 4 mushrooms (I did them in a square), spread dijon on each. Cover with the rest of the spinach and 1 tsp thyme. Finally add the remaining onion.

Very carefully place the second sheet of pastry on top and fold the edges under the bottom sheet (you want the seams down and tucked underneath). Once assembled, add all ingredients of the vegan egg wash in a small dish and whisk. Brush the top and edges of the pastry with the wash and place in the freezer for 10 minutes. Brush with the wash a second time and place back in the freezer for another 10 minutes. I did a few small cuts to let the steam out (see picture), then bake in oven for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown.

BOOM Vegan Thanksgiving dinner!

*I also made up some mushroom gravy…store bought…who do you think I am?!? It was a lovely addition to this dish!

I am a lover of summer weather, but as we sat through a heat wave the last few weeks of September, I was very ready for actual fall weather to arrive. The sun is still out and we have been enjoying these first few days of October. Cue the pumpkins, mums and gorgeous fall colours.

On Thanksgiving weekend we went full-blown fall family fun mode. We started the weekend off with a drive down to Rockton, Ontario for the Rockton Worlds Fair. We had so much fun, B loved the rides and the midway, it was too bad he was just shy of the height requirements for many of the rides, but he LOVE the ones that he was able to go on, especially the ship swing. His excited smile was priceless and he spent the entire time waving at us from the ride.

The next day we had a low-key morning at home with a very sleepy toddler, who decided to nap before lunch on the couch. So we took advantage of a full afternoon, by heading over to Strom’s Farm in Guelph to check out the activities and pick out a few pumpkins!

Overall such a great weekend and a great start to fall. I hope you and your families are enjoying October as well!

This past weekend we celebrated B’s second birthday. I decided to keep it casual again this year, as he is still young enough that the parties are more for the adults than the kids. We had a small gathering of friends and family to celebrate our little man. In true toddler fashion he was so impressed by the first gift he opened, we struggled to get him to open anything else.

To ring in the big second birthday we have begun the transition from crib to bed. My parents picked out this amazing bunk bed for him from Pottery Barn Kids and I went full mom mode on his fun Star Wars sheets, also from Pottery Barn Kids.

I am so in love with his new room and I think he is too, night 1 in the big bed went very well, other than a 6am wake up call, he didn’t get up once!

I am trying not to freak out over here, but I am officially a mom of a two year old! I can’t believe my little man is turning two today!

On this day two years ago my little 7 pound 3 ounce bundle of joy joined our family at 11:18pm. He is still just as sweet and has grown into a funny and outgoing kid. This little man changed my life for the better and I cannot wait to see him grow and change over the year.

Keeping a fitness routine when B was an infant was relatively easy. Sure I was exhausted, but he had two dedicated nap times when I could sneak away or I could throw him in his carrier and he would sleep through a class at the gym.

Fast forward to toddlerhood and making time for the gym has become a little bit harder. I am now faced with only 1 nap and a child who wants to touch everything and run around if he joins me at the gym.

Regardless, if you want it, you make it work. Find a routine and stick with it, the extra boost of energy I get from working out and the mental break is worth finding the time.

Take advantage of nap time. If you have a home gym, a fitness app/video or a virtual trainer (get your trainer here!!). Get your runners on and take advantage of a two-hour nap to get a workout in.

Work out a schedule with your spouse/caregiver. D and I have been lucky that we can trade-off on parent duties so we can both make it to the gym. We are very involved in the fitness community, so making time for BOTH of us is important. Find a schedule that works for you and your spouse.

Join a kid friendly gym. You don’t have to go to a conventional gym to find childcare or a kid friendly space. D and I do CrossFit and we are so lucky that this community is open to kids. B can hang out when we work out or many CrossFit boxes have classes set up for mom and baby too.

Involve your kids. Whether this means using your kid as a makeshift weight or you use them as your running cardio between sets, make it fun. Trust me you can still get a sweat on while playing around with your kids.

Bottom line, make a schedule that works for you and your family. If you have a game plan for workout times it will be easier to schedule or involve your kids and actually make it happen.

I am obsessed, I probably eat these with a side of smoked tofu and BBQ sauce… at least 3 times a week, I just can’t get enough. I have these down to a science that even the julienning of veggies seems to be faster now. These are packed with veggies, are low carb and they are super filling. Not to mention they are so pretty!

Enjoy!

Rainbow Fresh Rolls & Spicy Peanut Sauce

Rolls:

1/4 Small Red Cabbage Grated/Shredded

2-3 Mini Cucumbers Julienned

2-3 Carrots Peeled and Julienned

1 Avocado Sliced

8 Mint Leaves

4-6 Rice Paper Wraps

Soak rice paper in warm water, dry on a clean towel. In the middle of the paper stack the cucumber and carrots, top with cabbage, avocado and mint. Roll tightly and cut in half to enjoy.

Last week the family gathered together in beautiful Tuscany for a week-long food and wine extravaganza. What a gorgeous part of the world. We stayed at a villa in San Casciano dei Bagni a small village about an hour South of Siena. Our villa was an old farmhouse tucked away in the hills of a farming and wine community.

We had a pretty jammed packed schedule, but our days mostly consisted of pasta, wine and beautiful views. The highlights would include 3 amazing wine tours in Montalcino, where we enjoyed some pretty fantastic brunellos, an in home pasta making lesson with Chef Eleonora, a walking tour of Siena – my mum may disagree with me – but I enjoyed the hills we had to climb while walking through this amazing city, finally we went to a farm to table and cheese factory tour (I wasn’t so keen on cheese – as the token family vegan – but there were many animals for me to play with – so compromise!).

If you have the chance, I suggest staying in Tuscany at some point, rent a villa, eat great food and just enjoy the village life!

I will likely say this every year that passes, but how are we already celebrating our third anniversary?? Some days it feels like yesterday I was walking down the aisle and having the greatest party of my life.

Each year brings new adventures and makes me appreciate us even more. So much has changed in three years, with B, with our home, with our jobs. I can only hope the next three years will bring as much excitement and change!